CNAs and weight

Nina2bRN · Mar 26, 2009

No offense to the people who write these article's but they obviously have a desk job and have NO CLUE what CNA work entails. I'm not a CNA yet but I have many friends who are and let me just say that NONE of them are *fat* and some have actually said they've lost weight since starting their job. Maybe they think that the healthcare industry is so stressed and over worked to where *they think* when people get off work...all they do is eat, or perhaps gain weight caused by stress...I don't know. But CNA work being the fattest job out there? Impossible!

dedream · Mar 26, 2009

I dont know about the "fattest job"....that's interesting to me. I've just started working for a nursing home as a temp and I float from floor to floor; the ratio on any given day is killer. If anything I have bigger muscles... I've always been heavy since having kids so I dont think its because I'm a cna. Did they give reasons on how they came to this conclusion??

Nina2bRN · Mar 26, 2009

Also, I guess it depends on the person and their way of relieving stress and of course *their job*.

yousoldtheworld · Mar 26, 2009

I have no idea about "fattest job" - there are a lot of jobs out there.

However, I myself am overweight, despite the fact that I run around like crazy 40 hours a week. It's a mystery.

However, I was overweight before I ever became a CNA - the job is not the cause.

For one, I think bigger people do well as CNAs because we tend to be a little stronger, which goes a long way when it comes to lifting people, pulling them up, etc. Of course, smaller people have the benefit of having less weight on their feet.

But, I've discussed this before with some people I work with. Not only are there a lot of overweight CNAs, there are a lot of overweight nurses, too. We thought that one reason for that might be the nature of the job. It's exhausting, and after a long workday, we all agreed that we rarely have the energy to do much for ourselves, whether that entails working out or cooking a fresh healthy meal.

But, like I said - I seriously doubt we're the "fattest" job.

Serendipity, PCT · Mar 26, 2009

Great thread! :yeah: , I have wondered the same thing! I would love to hear from those CNA's who make an effort to stay in shape, and how you go about doing so, with your jam packed work schedule!

Ninja Nurse, ASN · Mar 26, 2009

I'm not a CNA yet, but I too was wondering about this. I started taking better care of myself, excersizing and eating healthier, about a year ago. :yeah: It's amazing how good I feel now and how much more energy I have. BUT, during my clinicals, I was sooooo tired afterwards and didn't get to stick to my diet(eating every 2 hours). I would have breakfast and then not eat for 6 or so hours. When I finally did eat I was sooo hungry that I overate! I'm back on routine now, but when I go to work as a CNA, I wonder how I can maintain this lifestyle.

I think that this field has overweight issues because we don't take the time to take care of ourselves, we take care of other people. What a catch 22.

allnurses Guide · Mar 26, 2009

I agree - people who are caretakers often neglect their own wellbeing.

macrich84 · Mar 27, 2009

I guess I can put myself in the overweight category as well. However, the weight was there before. It is very difficult to feel like running to the gym after a 12 shift. And there are days when you're so busy that you forget to eat or just don't have the time then when you get home that you feel like you could eat everything not nailed down. I've finally figured out a schedule that works for me that as stick to as much as possible.

I agree though... I don't see how we have the fattest job!

mochabean · Mar 27, 2009

Well, I work with a couple of overweight nursing assistants. I also work with overweight nurses. I'm thin and I work out 3-4 ways a week. Since I'm on my feet all the time, I don't jog as much as I used to because it's too much impact on my knees. I go on the elliptical machien and lift weight. I've noticed that I tend to eat more work than I do at home, maybe because I'm always running around the unit.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Mar 27, 2009

I'm not overweight and I look the same as I did before I started CNA work, except that I have arm muscles now. Then again I eat whatever I want without even thinking that I'm going to gain weight, and I don't work out. I figure my job is enough of one (well not really but you know). Before I started CNA work I would feel guilty about eating too much and I'd have to force myself to exercise.

I think my shift doesn't help either. 3-11 sucks the life out of you. I get home at night, eat everything in sight, stay up because I can't go to bed right away, and then I sleep in till 10 the next day. It takes me forever to wake up and I'm not motivated to do ANYTHING, especially if it's going to mess up my hair (lol) because I know I have to go to work later.

ohiogyrl · Mar 27, 2009

This is interesting. My mom is in allied health - not nursing. But she was telling me the other day that nurses are the most overweight profession she's come across. I was shocked b/c when I did my clinicals I felt like that was the best work out ever. But I have noticed a lot of nurses and cna are overweight to begin with ..so maybe that's what it is. The profession doesn't make you gain weight - but some of us are big to begin with. I think after a normal days work if we ate healthy we would drop the weight so fast. But I think maybe b/c the job is so physically and sometimes mentally draining when we get off we eat whatever's in sight...so we kind of maintain our weight instead of gaining or losing.